Nothing Is Ever Easy
by Ron's Maroon Jumper
Summary: Growing up is difficult, especially if you're a Potter or Weasley. Follow the Next Generation as they deal with family, friends, love, loss, and secrets. Starts right after the Epilogue in DH.


This is my first fanfic that I've posted. It's been in the works for a couple of months now, but it's only now that I've managed to pluck up the courage and begin posting. I hope you like it. I'll accept constructive criticism but please do it nicely. And if you don't like it, then please don't read it.

With a Next Gen fic, they're subjective to our own opinions because we don't know too much about them other than the information J.K. Rowling has given out. There are no right and wrong answers, unless it contradicts what JKR has said, then of course it would be wrong. But you get what I mean...

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all recognisable characters and settings are the property of J.K. Rowling.

* * *

_Students were hanging from the windows nearest them. A great number of faces, both on the train and off, seemed to be turned toward Harry._

_"Why are they all staring?" demanded Albus as he and Rose craned around to look at the other students._

_"Don't let it worry you," said Ron. "It's me, I'm extremely famous."_

**~ Taken from the Deathly Hallows Epilogue**

* * *

**Chapter One: Back with a Bang**

Al was excited. Sure he had been excited before. How could someone not be excited when they went to see their favourite Quidditch team play live for the very first time? Or when they finally got the much anticipated, as it were in Al's case, letter from Hogwarts, and even when they finally got their wand - the key instrument for any young witch and wizard. But going to Hogwarts (finally!) topped it all.

But he was also feeling quite nervous as his parents, sister, and various aunts and uncles all disappeared once the train rounded the corner. He had never been alone before. Since he was born he had always had his parents around. Though he had been looking forward to going to Hogwarts since he had first gone to the castle when he was six, he didn't know what he was going to do alone. Sure he had his older brother and cousins, but he wouldn't have his parents, and to Al that was a scary prospect.

This is it, though; he was finally going off to Hogwarts after five years of waiting, which, when he was younger, felt like a lifetime.

After the talk he'd had with his dad before boarding the train, Al found himself feeling more relaxed about the idea of being sorted. Of course he was hoping for Gryffindor; his entire family, at least those who were related to him through blood, had all been sorted there. He was slightly afraid of breaking that tradition since traditions were something they all adhered to in his large family. Plus, he liked the idea of being brave... like his dad. Not that the other three Houses didn't have admirable qualities, because they did, but Al wasn't smart like a Ravenclaw was supposed to be nor was he cunning like a Slytherin (in all honesty that was his cousin Lucy, who could charm anyone she wanted, but Al had a strong feeling his Uncle Percy would have had a coronary if his daughter was sorted into Slytherin). He supposed he was loyal and kind like a Hufflepuff, at least he thought he was, but compared with Gryffindor, being a Hufflepuff just wasn't all that appealing to him, even if Teddy had been one.

No, Gryffindor was where he had his sights truly set on.

'I hope the trolley comes soon,' James said, breaking the silence. 'I'm starving.'

'You're _always _starving,' Al replied, rolling his eyes. It was true. James could eat three bowls of cereal - large bowls, too - a bagel, several slices of toast, finished off with a large glass of pumpkin juice and that was simply breakfast. In fact, Al had seen him do so that very morning. He was a bottomless pit. Eating a lot was a Weasley family trait, according to Aunt Hermione, and Al happened to agree; he'd seen his uncles and cousins, even his Aunt Ginny, when they al went to the Burrow for lunch each week when they weren't in school.

'So?' James demanded, rolling his own hazel eyes before getting to his feet. 'You're boring me; I'm off to find Fred. He's got -' James cut himself off, shaking his head. 'Actually, it's probably better you don't know. Plausible deniability and all that.'

Al knew that meant James and Fred would be up to no good as per usual. Knowing his Uncle George, he had slipped them some supplies from the shop when his mum and Aunt Angelina weren't around. No doubt, with their return to school, James and Fred were going to put those supplies to good use.

'Later.' James stopped to ruffle Al's hair before leaving the compartment, chuckling to himself.

'I think I might want to be a Slytherin just to get away from James,' Al joked.

Rose looked at him, both her ginger eyebrows raised. 'You think James is going to leave you alone if you're a Slytherin? Really, Al; he'll probably be even worse than he is now and that's saying something. No, you're probably better off with Gryffindor or even Ravenclaw. I know I'd prefer Gryffindor since that's where the rest of the family have been, but Ravenclaw could be quite rewarding, don't you think? Think of all the things we could learn from being there. You even have to answer a question to get into the common room, which I think is much better than giving a password -'

'Rosie!' Al yelled, stopping her mid-sentence. He knew that if he didn't get her to stop soon, she would go on for a while. When Rose was nervous, she rambled. It still amazed Al how she didn't even need to draw breath while she spoke, something she had inherited from her mum. 'It was a joke,' he explained.

Rose began biting down on her bottom lip so hard that Al was certain she was going to draw blood if she wasn't careful.

'What's the matter, Rosie?'

Rose hesitated for a moment, looking out of the window at the empty fields that passed them, before saying, 'D-do you really think my dad was being serious when he said he'd disinherit us if we get sorted somewhere other than Gryffindor.'

'No,' Al said uncertainly. He didn't think Ron would really disinherit them. Plus, Aunt Hermione would never let him. 'I'm more interested in why everyone was staring at us on the platform.'

'That was weird,' Rose remarked. 'But haven't you noticed that people stare whenever we go to Diagon Alley with either Mum, Dad, Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny?'

Al pondered this for a moment, racking his brains. He had noticed but he never paid much attention to it before; he just thought people were staring at something other than them, maybe at the new broom in Quality Quidditch Supplies, or the new book advertised at Flourish and Blotts. He hadn't really considered that they were staring at them. Since he hadn't gone to the station last year to see James off because he had been sick, Al didn't know whether the same thing had happened last year as it did today.

'Well, they were in the war,' Al reminded her. 'And Mum was an international Quidditch player with the Harpies for years before we were born, so maybe that's why. They're always stopping her in the street, asking her about her opinion on the newest recruits and who she thinks will win the Cup.'

'Maybe,' Rose conceded, but Al could tell she didn't completely believe that.

'What do you think it's all about?' he asked her.

'I honestly don't know,' Rose shrugged.

'Maybe we should ask Victoire,' Al suggested. 'She is the oldest, she might know.'

'Or we could just ask our parents.'

'If they haven't told us before, do we really expect them to tell us now?' Al questioned.

Rose was silent for a moment, turning to stare out of the window again. 'Do you think it has something to do with the war, then?' she asked quietly. 'I mean, they all fought in it and it's obviously something that everyone will know about, especially considering it wasn't actually all that long ago since it happened.'

'It'll be twenty years in May.'

'Considering the last Muggle one ended in the forties and they still remember and commemorate it to this day, everyone in our world will know about the one twenty years ago,' said Rose sensibly. 'But have you noticed we don't know that much about what happened.'

'We know my dad's parents died during the first war and Uncle Fred and Teddy's parents died during the second one,' Al murmured.

'But we don't know the details of what actually happened.'

'Do you really want to know?' Al asked interestedly.

'It'll certainly be fascinating to know what happened,' Rose confessed. Al should have known; Rose loved to read about everything and anything, another thing she had inherited from her mother. There wasn't a book in Flourish and Blotts that she hadn't read. She'd even read their school textbooks and they hadn't even gotten to Hogwarts yet.

In all honesty, Al wasn't sure whether he wanted to know the truth or not. What did it matter? The war had happened and it was over with. They had won. Each year on May second, which was not only the anniversary of the battle but Victoire's birthday, Al saw how upset the adults became, especially his grandparents, Uncle George, and his day, despite trying to make the day special for Victoire rather than a day of sadness. None of them liked to talk about the war, Al knew that and had learnt from a young age not to ask too many questions for fear of upsetting them. But that's just the way they had been raised.

'Do you think we're reading too much into it?' Rose asked after a moment of silence.

Al half-shrugged, uncertain. 'Maybe... I don't know.'

'Well, we've got a good few hours left until we're at Hogwarts,' Rose said, plopping her bag on her knee and rummaging through its contents until she found what she was looking for - a book. Curling up on her seat, Rose opened the book and began reading, her eyes darting swiftly from left to right.

Al settled himself to watching the passing scenery. A mixture of excitement and nerves settled in the pit of his stomach, causing it to squirm uncomfortably, but Al ignored it. This was it; he was finally off to Hogwarts. Nothing else mattered right there and then.

**. . . **

'Look what Dad gave me,' Fred's voice came from the insides of his open trunk, which was propped up against the side of the compartment seat. A moment later, his head re-emerged. In his hands was an orange firework.

'Wicked,' James grinned, snatching the firework out of his hand to inspect it. It was a large, dragon-shaped firework that James had seen several times before, mainly at a few of their family gatherings such as birthday's when Uncle George would bring out the fireworks and set up a display in the garden of the Burrow for them. The last being Roxanne's birthday in August.

'It comes from the new Wildfire Whiz-Bang range,' Fred informed him. 'It has a timer so that it doesn't go off straight away. Perfect for creating mischief,' he added with a grin. 'They're not even out yet; Dad's going to put them in the shop in time for Christmas.'

James' eyes glinted. 'Brilliant,' he breathed. 'I say we put good use to this tonight.'

'After or before the welcoming feast?' Fred smirked. This was one of the reasons why Fred was one of his favourite cousins; he understood James and his desires. The pair of them weren't names for some of the most legendary pranksters ever to set foot in Hogwarts for nothing. They had to prove their worth and live up to their names. This was _definitely _going to ensure that. It would almost be worth the Howler he knew his mother and aunt were going to send.

'During the speeches. That way we're sure to get everyone's attention,' James replied.

'You know this is a sure way of getting detention,' Roxanne, Fred's younger sister, commented, looking over the top of her magazine. James snorted at her choice of reading: Witch Weekly.

James and Fred exchanged grins before saying, in unison, 'That's the whole idea.'

'It's also a sure way of making certain we attain legendary status,' Fred added cheerfully.

Roxanne rolled her eyes good-naturedly, grinning. 'Mum is so going to murder you.'

'Nah, she won't; she loves me too much.'

**. . .**

'MacMillan, Amelia,' Professor Longbottom called out.

A small blonde-haired girl near Al stepped nervously out of the line; he could see her hands shaking. The Hat had barely touched her head when it called out -

'HUFFLEPUFF!'

Amelia's shoulders sagged with relief and she grinned widely as she hopped off the stool and went to join her new classmates at the Hufflepuff table.

'Malfoy, Scorpius.'

Al saw the pale, white-blonde kid his Uncle Ron had pointed out on the platform move out of the line, looking terrified as he approached the stool. Al had never anyone _that _pale before. The Hat had been on his head for two minutes before it announced his House.

'SLYTHERIN!'

'Montgomery, Olivia.'

Al was getting nervous now. There was only two more letters before the P's began. He wasn't sure whether he was glad his surname began with a letter lower down on the alphabet or not. Would it have been easier had he gone first or would it be better to have the Weasley name like Rose and end up going somewhere near to last? All Al knew was how clammy his hands were becoming and how much his heart had begun to race.

'RAVENCLAW!'

There was loud round of applause from the Ravenclaw table.

'Nott, Antonia.'

Just as it did with Amelia, the Hat had barely touched Antonia's head before calling out -

'SLYTHERIN!'

'Peakes, Michael.'

'GRYFFINDOR.'

'Potter, Albus.'

Al's heart started to sprint in his chest. In that moment he seemed to have forgotten how to move his legs. He was so caught up in the fact his name had been called out that he didn't even notice the whispers around the Hall about him.

'Go on,' Rose whispered from next to him. When he made no move to go, she gave him a rather hard push towards the front where Professor Longbottom was waiting with the Hat.

He was shaking as he sat down on the stool, his legs were moving up and down nervously. The Hat was placed on his head, falling down past his eyes.

_Not Slytherin, _he thought desperately. Everything his dad had said to him at the train station seemed to have vanished from his mind. In that moment, Al was seriously hoping he wasn't going to become a Slytherin. _Not Slytherin. Not Slytherin, _he continued chanting inside his head.

_Not Slytherin, eh? _To Al the Hat sounded rather amused for some reason which caused him to scowl. Was the Hat trying to tell him he would be good in Slytherin? _You're a lot like your father, you are. His sorting was a difficult one; he would have done well in Slytherin. However, you would not. _Al could have collapsed with relief right there. _No, Slytherin isn't the House for you. I see intelligence. Oh, yes, there's quite a bit of intelligence in here and you're loyal, very loyal. You would do well in either Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. There's also a desire to prove yourself... But where to put you? Hm... Better be -_

'GRYFFINDOR!'

Relief spread through Al life wildfire. He couldn't help but grin as he saw his older cousins cheer for him at the Gryffindor table, all of them getting to their feet. Al saw Fred stand up on the bench seat and whistle loudly. Even James joined in until the Headmaster glared at them from across the Hall. As Al passed the remaining first years, he saw Rose beam at him.

Sitting down next to fellow first year Michael Peakes, Al was instantly bombarded with pats on the back and several congratulations from his many cousins. Even James seemed pleased he had managed to get sorted into Gryffindor.

'Always knew you'd be a Gryffindor,' he said.

Next to him, Fred snorted loudly. 'Sure you did.'

'I did,' James said indignantly. 'I only said he might have been sorted into Slytherin just to try and motivate him to join us here at the best table.'

'Sure you did,' Fred repeated, patting James on the back, as Al just chuckled. He then added, 'You do realise that doesn't make any sense, right? The Hat decides where we're put.'

'Lets just watch the rest of the sorting,' James snapped, turning to face the front. Fred smirked and followed suit.

There were only four more people to be sorted, including Rose. Underneath the table, Al had his fingers crossed for his cousin. He knew she wouldn't mind being a Ravenclaw, but he was hoping she was going to join him in Gryffindor. A couple of times, Al caught Rose looking back at him; she looked green, like James when he ate a Puking Pastille after Fred had hidden it in his food the previous night during their family meal at the Burrow.

They watched quietly as Edward Rogers, Meredith Steinman, and Isaac Thomas were all sorted into their Houses (Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor respectively), until there was only one person left to be sorted.

'Weasley, Rose.'

This time Al noticed the whisperings around him as the name 'Weasley' was read out. Looking around the Hall, he noticed several people watching him. He frowned and shook his head, turning back to look at Rose. Al saw her shoulders heave as she took a deep breath before walking forward on shaky legs. Unlike his own sorting, Rose's seemed to take only a minute before the Hat declared her a -

'GRYFFINDOR!'

Once again, the large Weasley clan all stood up, cheering loudly for their newest member just as they had done for him. Rose tore the Hat off her head and darted towards the Gryffindor table as fast as she possibly could, taking her place next to Albus.

Now that everyone had been sorted, the Headmistress stood up to address them. She was a relatively new Head having only been in the role for three years since old McGonagall retired. Professor Babbling had been the Ancient Runes Professor during Al's parents' time at school, but none of them had taken the subject, though they were always getting owl's sent home about James and his latest ingenious plan.

'Before we begin the delicious feast our house-elves have prepared, I'd like to welcome the first years to our school. To the returning students, welcome back. There will be a time later for the more important speeches, but for now, tuck in.'

And with that, Professor Babbling sat down, and the plates in front of them filled themselves with more food than Al had ever seen, which, considering how much his grandmother cooked, was a rather remarkable feat. She always cooked for a hundred rather than twenty-four, but in their family that was a good thing considering how much they all ate.

As he dished some mashed potatoes onto his plate, Al couldn't help but think how wonderful everything here was. It had definitely been worth all those years of waiting.

**. . .**

James looked at his watch. It was almost nine o'clock.

It was almost time.

He nudged Fred in the ribs and pointed at his watch, trying to be as inconspicuous about it as he possibly could. A smirk formed on Fred's face as he stood up, stretching.

'Excuse me,' he said loudly so that all those within the vicinity could hear him. 'Duty calls, you know what I mean.' Whistling to himself, he made off down the Hall as slowly as he could without drawing too much attention.

James looked to his left and saw Roxanne on the bench opposite his. She was looking right at him, a knowing smile on her face. James stuffed his face with treacle tart - his favourite - to try and hide the smirk on his own. It didn't work as well as he had hoped.

'What are you smirking about?' Albus asked, eyebrows raised.

'It's a wonderful pudding, don't you think?' he deflected, holding up his half eaten pudding.

Al's eyes narrowed suspiciously, obviously not believing him (James couldn't actually blame him; he usually was up to no good), but he let it slide and went back to talking to Rose and the new Gryffindor first years.

It was a few minutes later before Fred came waltzing back in, humming to himself, this time. The way he was attempting to conceal his smile, James knew that everything was ready.

Now all they had to do was wait for it to begin.

'Ah, that was a nice pee,' he commented loudly as he reclaimed his seat next to James. They high-fived one another underneath the table.

It was another five minutes before the chatter slowly began to die down and the food began to vanish as Professor Babbling stood up to make the Start-of-Term speech.

'I hope you have all had an enjoyable meal,' she said pleasantly. 'As our older students are aware of, the Forest is out-of-bounds to everyone. And as our caretaker, Mr. Filch, would like me to remind you, the list of banned objects is taped to his door. Anyone caught with these objects will be punished. For Quidditch tryouts -' A loud bang cut Professor Babbling off from her speech.

Fred leaned in to whisper in James' ear. 'Showtime.'

The doors to the Great Hall flew open. In the distance, Firecrackers could be seen popping. A second later, there was another loud bang as rockets began shooting off, bouncing off the entrance hall walls, emitting silver sparks in their wake. Next to go off was the large dragon, which consisted of gold and scarlet sparks. It soared through the open doors into the Great Hall, swooping down on unsuspecting people.

Loud cheers and laughter could be heard. Several people even started to clap, causing James and Fred's grins to widen. Fred turned to look at James, who nodded, and together the pair of them stood up on the benches and began bowing.

'Welcome back to Hogwarts.'

* * *

I was really nervous about posting this. I'm not entirely certain about what the Sorting Hat had to say to Albus, but I tried my best. I'm quite sentimental when it comes to the entire Weasley family being sorted into Gryffindor and Scorpius being a Slytherin. It says on the Harry Potter Wiki that Draco had raised his son to be a better person, but despite that there's still Slytherin tendencies inside of him. The House itself isn't evil and neither is Scorpius. And I hope you liked the prank James and Fred pulled. I took some of the description of the fireworks from the Order of the Phoenix book, because it described it much better than I ever could.

This isn't going to focus on just one of the characters but quite a few of them. This chapter was just to introduce us to Albus and James. More of them will be introduced in the next chapter.

Oh, and if you want to know the kid's ages then head over to my profile.

Don't forget to review!


End file.
